Time to Change
by Dancing Darkness
Summary: The end is coming, he's been told. All he can do now is run, run from himself and the world. Waters of Mars to EoT!
1. Part I

Hey there! It's been awhile and my laptop is finally back and fixed, after some frantic writing I have brought you the ending of David Tennant's spell as the Doctor 'Unexpected' style! Please enjoy! I haven't had time to really spell check it due to wanting to get it up ASAP, sorry! Please review!

Anywho, Allons-y!

----

**Part I**

Mars was oddly beautiful, deep danger red and deadly stillness. The sun beamed across it and the far craters seemed to shine, glinting like silver mirrors through a mirage. The footprints of robots and satellites and buggies lay in the earth perfectly preserved with not a wind to spoil them. Crimson hills and flats went on forever, untouched and unblemished.

It was a dead world.

Well it _was_! There was nothing alive on its surface but that wasn't what they'd come to see after all. It was a field trip, of sorts, to have a look at dead worlds that could be terraformed to support life, or that once did support life, in a familiar galactic vector. Just a game really.

The blue of the TARDIS stood stark against the scarlet expanse. A sapphire amongst rubies. Or red clay. It was distinctive to say the least.

The Doctor was out first, of course. He strode onto the new planet with that strange sense of child-wonder that he'd retained into his adult life. Due to a slight problem with the atmosphere, principally that he was unable to breathe it, he was wearing a red spacesuit covered in valves and black piping. Even in the bulky suit he managed to look amazingly slender and spry.

Brown eyes darted around with eager anticipation. "Oh that's beautiful," he exclaimed as his eyes fell on a small colony at the centre of the crater.

"What's that?" called a voice from behind him as John trudged up to meet him. The space suit was a bit too big for him, it hung off his smaller frame like a plastic bag.

"Some kind of off-world colony. Earth obviously; early twenty second or twenty first century at a guess," the Doctor replied with a glance and a grin. "Where's Jenny?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Locking up I think," the boy replied, also looking back.

"Be there in a minute," her voice crackled over the coms unit. "I'll catch up."

They didn't need any further encouragement, father and son strode out across the red dust and up a nearby rocky hillside. They picked their way through the rubble with relish and excitement, the need to explore that defined them. They paused at the ridge, looking down at the shinning domes and rocket, glinting in the unfiltered sunlight.

Jenny sprinted out after them a few seconds later, shutting the TARDIS door behind her. Her spacesuit didn't fit either. "The Red Planet," she commented, doing a little spin to get a three-sixty view of the area. "It's pretty."

"Pretty?" the Doctor exclaimed incredulously, turning to her with a raised eyebrow. "The home of the mighty ice warriors, fourth planet from the sun, Sol Four. 'Pretty'!" He sighed and rolled his eyes looking away. Over the com he heard John snigger.

He eyes fixed on the base and the grin returned.

He cocked his head and turned back to his children, "shall we take a closer look?" he asked innocently.

"I should think so," John replied instantly, "we want to be sure they don't have any problems."

"We're doing a scientific study of life, we should be thorough," Jenny confirmed, nodding sagely, "even if the life is artificially existing."

"Well then," the Doctor said, looking back to the base. "Allons-y." That agreed the three of them began to descend into the crater to get a closer look.

The Doctor led the way a few paces ahead, commenting on nearby constellations and the general geography of Mars. It was all going well until there was a strange whirring that sounded like robotics. The Doctor paused, as did John and Jenny.

"Rotate, slowly," a vocoder voice commanded, "you are under arrest for trespassing." The Doctor turned slowly, as ordered, to see a short robot on tank tracks pointing a gun at him. He raised an eyebrow. "Gadget-Gadget," it added.

He looked over it at Jenny and John and gave them the 'stay-here' look, the robot hadn't seen them after all. Silently they began to back away.

"Move," the robot ordered. Slowly the Doctor did so and was directed toward the shinning domes and rocket. Time to meet the locals.

----

"Name, rank and intention," a curt voice demanded as he stared down the laser-barrel of a dark blue gun. And he though blue was such a friendly colour...

"Doctor. Doctor. Fun?" he replied apprehensively eyes focused on the weapon.

At that point someone sprinted in, babbling something about him being a person. Hadn't they seen a person in a while? This was a planet base after all, they surely must get traffic.

"He was wearing this thing," a blonde woman behind him stated, holding up his suit and staring at it. "I've never seen anything like it."

"What did mission control say?"

"They're out of range for ten hours" she replied, still examining his suit closely.

"If we could cut the chat everyone," the first speaker barked, eyes still locked on him. Clearly the woman in charge.

"Actually," he began, it usually went well when he began speaking. What he wouldn't give for some of John's honesty-vibe right now. "'Chat's' second on my list, the first being 'gun – pointed at my head'. Which then puts my head second and chat third. Gun-head-chat. Yeah...I hate lists. Still you could hurt someone with that thing! Put it down."

"Oh you'd like that," she remarked, still glaring at him. Or not.

He gazed at her non-plussed, "can you find me someone who wouldn't?" he asked.

"Why should I trust you?" Excellent question that one.

"Because I give you my word and, at forty million miles away from home, my word is all you've got."

They stared at each other for a very long moment. She dropped the gun and he breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Keep covering him," she directed at the young technician nearby. He nodded.

"Oh right, auto glove response?" the Doctor asked, glancing at him.

"Gadget-Gadget" the robot piped up in confirmation.

"Does it have to keep saying that?" the Doctor continued, irritated.

"I think it's funny," the man replied coldly with a soulless stare.

"I hate funny robots," the Doctor grumbled only to be interrupted by the intercom.

The next few minutes were unbearably awkward until he figured it out. This was Bowie Base One! The first human colonists ever who established a base in the Gustev crater. It was wonderful and hate the same time terrifying. He needed to get himself and his kids off this planet right now. He needed to go because the whole thing would go up soon, _very soon_.

Suddenly a nearby desk began to beep, the blonde woman, Steffi, moved to check it. Her brow furrowed. "Captain, computer log has just reported two additional people on board aside from him," she gestured vaguely at the Doctor.

Why did his children never listen? Why did thy ignore everything he said?

"Where?" Adelaide asked, her eyes never left him.

"Medical Dome," Steffi replied waiting for orders.

"How did they get in?"

Ed moved to the computer and began running diagnostics, "looks like they must have tripped the system. They're not on any of the external cameras."

The Doctor ran a hand down his face.

"With you I take it?" Adelaide probed. The Doctor saw the gun twitch, itching to rise back up and aim at his head.

"Oh yes," he mumbled. "Why don't they ever listen. 'Stay in the ship' means _stay in the ship_!"

She opened her mouth to ask something else but, suddenly, there wasn't time for any more questions because the Bio-Dome had abruptly begun to shut down. There were also some interesting noises coming over the intercom. The Doctor could already tell, this was only the beginning.

----

"This is, without doubt, the stupidest thing we've ever done," Jenny grumbled as she shut the external door to the dome. She took her helmet off and pulled her long hair free of the suit with relish.

"Yeah, fun though," John agreed, also taking off his helmet. He looked around, scratching his hair absent-mindedly. He took in the room slowly, "looks like some kind of medical bay," he remarked picking up an electrical device from a nearby table. "See? Virus scanner," he waved it at her vaguely.

Jenny was busy stripping off her space suit and discarding it. She dusted down her combats briskly, checking that everything was in place. "So, where's dad?" she asked, watching as he pulled his space suit off to reveal a pair of brown pinstripe trousers with matching waistcoat under which was a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The ensemble looked slightly ill-fitted as it hugged his slim frame.

"I have no idea, they'll probably take him to the central control dome-thingy," John replied as he folded the suit neatly.

She moved to a nearby computer and attempted to sign in, only to frown when it denied her access. It beeped at her loudly, she hummed and put on a pair and black and red glasses that she seemed to produce from nowhere. "System's a bit primitive," she commented as she tried again.

John was still looking around, uneasy. He carded a hand through his hair as he stared around warily. Something wasn't right about this place, he could feel it in his gut.

"Ha!" Jenny crowed triumphantly as she manage to bypass the security system with another loud beep. "Base schematics and logs,"she told John in response to a question he had yet to ask. "This base is at least a year old. Oooh, it's the twenty-first of November. I like Fridays, much better than Sundays."

John stuffed his hands into his pockets and wandered over to inspect the isolation chamber. Air tight by the looks of it, he cocked his head and studied the auto-lock system installed in the thick metal door. Soon he was lost in thought.

Jenny suddenly stopped typing and the room fell completely silent. She just stared at the screen numbly, colour draining from her face. "John, we gotta get dad and go. Right now!" she suddenly shouted.

"Say what?" he asked turning round shaking loose of his daze.

"Guess what this base is?" she asked, eyes darting up to him.

"I hate guessing games," John replied, scratching at his chin in a gesture obviously copied from their father. He strolled towards her.

"This is Bowie Base One, sums-for-brains," she snapped.

"Bowie Base One?" he answered incredulously, his face also going pale.

"Yes."

"As in Bowie Base One that self destructs in 2059 for no explainable reason due to a nuclear device at its core set off by the captain's order?"

"Yes."

"And it's November twenty-first 2059?"

"_Yes_. Are you deaf? Little brother, we just landed on explosion day!" She ripped her glasses and made a sprint for the main door.

John shot after her, "we gotta find dad," he shouted.

"Where do you think I'm going?" Jenny retorted, pausing to unlock the door.

"I hate you sometimes," John grumbled as he moved to help override the door mechanism which was meant to only be opened from the outside once sealed. This posed little problem to two Time Lords however.

"I know," she growled back.

They swung the door open and were at once confronted with a very confused Nurse Yuri Kerenski and Ed Gold on their way to get a medical kit for the collapsed Maggie Cain.

"Hi," John said slowly as he looked up into Ed Gold's unforgiving eyes.

----

When the Doctor sprinted to the medical block he could only pray that the water-infected-human-whatevers hadn't managed to get that far. Also that the one they did have was safely contained and away from his children. He didn't hold out much hope because they, like himself, had an incredible knack for finding and getting into trouble.

Finding they were safe was like coming home to Christmas, however the explanation to good Captain Brooke was not nearly so easy. First they'd dealt with the creature and its response to ancient North Martian did not fill the Doctor with hope, in fact it filled him with dread. Stone chilling dread. But the captain didn't seem to share it as she quickly turned from the creature to him.

"Excuse me?" she said, eyes narrowing.

"They're my children," he repeated, rubbing his neck gingerly.

"And why are they here?"

"Well it was sort of an educational thing really, look at dead planets and theorise terraforming, nothing too invasive. We didn't actually expect to find anyone here," John put in from where he sat on a nearby counter, idly swinging his legs with his eyes fixed on the mutated form that had once been called 'Maggie'.

"You built a spaceship to take your children on a _field trip_," Ed Gold said slowly, as if trying the words on for size. The Doctor could already tell, here was a man to be wary of.

"Of course not, that would be a gross waste of resources," he replied with a smile, "we were just passing by. Though we'd stop and take a look, you know, see the sights."

They all starred at him for a long moment.

"You're not human," was the curt observation of Adelaide.

All three shared a glance. "Give the lady a gold star," John remarked, finally wrenching his eyes away to look at them.

As expected guns came back out again, pointing unwaveringly at them.

"What is your intention?" Ed Gold barked, shifting uneasily.

The Doctor rolled his eyes in annoyance and just a little bit of stress, "we've already told you. Fun."

"You flew out here for _fun_?"

"Is that hard to believe?" Jenny asked curiously, her human interaction was slightly limited. "We've done it loads of times, there's a whole universe out there full of life. Why wouldn't we want to go see it?"

"You're aliens," Yuri repeated, clearly having a little trouble with the notion, "like the Daleks?"

Three sets of eyes swivelled to him immediately and all three froze, unmoving. The sense that he'd offended them was overwhelming. "No," the Doctor said shortly, "certainly not."

"How can we be sure?" Adelaide asked, reasserting control with a glare.

"Because I was there forty years ago, Adelaide. I was there when the Earth was moved so far away, the whole universe was in outrage. Twenty seven planets vanished in the blink of an eye. Humans didn't know it but a whole army was amassing at the affront of it. But it was me who found you and _them_." The Doctor looked away, musing.

"You can't have been," Ed retorted, "you're barely thirty!"

"We don't age in the same way," John told him. "Would it shock you if I told you I was there too?"

It did shock them a little bit.

John laughed a bit at the memory, "I was hiding in the bathroom at Do-....well you don't really need to know that I guess."

They stared each other down for awhile.

"If you'd been to Earth we'd know," Adelaide insisted after a moment.

"But you _do_ know," Jenny suddenly commented from where she was fiddling with, scrolling idly through the computer programming matrix. She looked round as the humans starred at her. "Says so here," she continued, poking a finger at the screen.

The Doctor strode over and peered over her shoulder, "Oooh, you're connected to the Torchwood Archives, here doing research on an alien planet I suppose sort of does kind of put you in their jurisdiction." He put on his glasses and scanned the screen.

Adelaide also leant forward to read, "'Species: Time Lord, First Contact: _1869_? Notes: Benign intention,'" she read aloud.

"Well, first contact with official witness I guess," the Doctor mused. "I don't think old Queen Victoria ever forgave me for the werewolf incident..."

"It says that we're registered as an 'immigrant species'," Jenny noted with a chuckle. "That'll be be Jack, I bet my hearts on it!"

"See, we're not so strange," the Doctor told them with a grin. "And I am sorry they broke in, no sense of propriety these two," he continued, jerking his thumb at his children.

Adelaide was quiet for a long time, "Well you'd best clear out," she told him at last. "An unknown infection means that Action One must be taken, we are evacuating the base. Your suits will of course be returned to you." She turned to her crew, "begin conveying he protein packs and equipment," she ordered. The two men immediately vanished to do their jobs, only Ed Gold sent a wary glance back.

The Doctor glanced at Jenny and John and gave a nod with a smile. "We'll help, I'm sure we can make the system do it faster," John said, cottoning on and dragging his sister down to the hallway.

Not he had to try and find a way of nicely telling Adelaide that her and her entire crew may possibly be infected. Joy of joys. Perhaps it was time to take a closer look at that glacier...

----

Then everything went to hell. Almost literally. As they gazed at the wreckage of the rocket John felt the confusion, the pain and the helplessness of his own hearts echoing off of his sister and his father. Everything had gone wrong.

They knew they couldn't stop the Event, it was fixed in time and time herself guarded it. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt to hear the screams and watch the base burn.

They just picked themselves up, not sure what to do. He could feel the argument raging in his father's mind. When his dad began to run back to the base he could do nothing but follow.

That was how they came to end up fighting time herself, a near impossible task. All the while his dad raved, the pressure of Donna's 'death' and Gallifrey's suffering had finally broken one of the finest minds in the universe. At last his father could take no more. It was almost like the man was a stranger. It was a rage he'd only glimpsed in the far corners of his father's mind.

"They died, they all _died_. Do you know who that leaves? Me!" his father growled, mashing the controls. "It's taken all this time for me to finally realise that the rules of time are _mine_ and they will obey me!"

The calm before the storm was over and the storm was very much there. An uncontrollable force of nature with no choice but to rage and rail against everything. Well if that was the way it was to be then John would just hold on tight, he'd been doing it all his life. He knew Jenny felt the same. If his father was going to rage like a terrible storm then he'd have to rumble alongside him, a baby lightning bolt crackling amidst the ancient turmoil. That was a good metaphor. Maybe he'd use it again sometime?

So when his father told him to use Gadget to get to the TARDIS and fly it back to pick them up because his helmet was intact, he did it without question. He ignored his better judgement, ignored the laws of time with which he'd been raised. He trusted as he'd always trusted.

He reassured the TARDIS as he flew her. Everything was going to be okay. His father was doing something fundamentally stupid but everything was going to be _okay_. Because it had to be. It just had to be.

He and his father were still bleeding after all this time and they both needed to believe in something. Anything really.

When time forcibly kicked his father, even though he'd saved Adelaide, John couldn't honestly say he was surprised. They should've known it would never work out. But you never know until you try he guessed.

But really, the Time Lord Victorious? Maybe his father was right in one respect, they weren't just _survivors _any more. In a sense they were winners. They'd thrown the fatal dice more than once and come out on top, bruised and beaten but still _alive_. They were last 'maintenance crew' of the universe ensuring everything ticked over as it should, that had to count for something right? Maybe his father being spared wasn't pure chance, nor his birth or his sister's? Maybe it had all been planned...but who would plan such a thing? Who could?

Did it really matter anyway?

As his Time Sense caught up, updating him on the changes they'd made and how time had remedied them (simple news reports and dates and changes in place of death) he felt lost. As he looked at Ood Sigma, felt the telepathic call and watched his father collapse in on himself in despair he felt helpless again.

Where had they gone wrong? Why was everything unravelling? Just a day ago the sky had been so clear and the world so simple...

They were back in the TARDIS but no one could say a word. His father just starred silently at the Time Rotor for a while. Starring like it held all the answers. He and Jenny just waited, it was all they could do. This man was the centre of their world, they'd follow him to the end of time itself if they had to.

"No," his father finally said defiantly and yanked down the lever that controlled the throttle of the TARDIS's time navigator and transdimensional rift stimulation drive that allowed them access to the causal nexus.

Without a word they started running again, running through time. John used to know what they were running from; the past, the future, the pain, the loss, the joy and the adventure. It all bundled up nice and neat. Easy to see and touch. Easy to feel and understand.

But now he was really afraid because things had changed and he wasn't sure if it was for the better or not. For the first time in a long time, longer than he cared to recall, his father was running from something new. The hardest thing to escape in the universe.

Himself.

----

What did you think? Hope you guys liked it! There should be the next chap up in a few days!

Please review and stimulate my pitiful ego!

Love ya!

- D


	2. Part II

Hey y'all, I'm back! Sorry I had a spur of the moment fic in the works (it's called Lament and is now up for viewing!) and got distracted from this one. Hope you like this new installment and such, please review! Even if you don't like it! What else was there? Oh yeah! I forgot to say this is Part 11 in the Unexpected Series, but most people will have figured that out by now I guess.

Enjoy!

Allons-y!

---

Part II

Well if things were screwed before they were definitely on fire now. Hope had done a nose dive and broken its neck on impact. Things had officially gone from bad to worse. Much worse. John was left gaping at the wreckage of his life.

What had happened?

That was simple. After some delaying and wilful wandering off they'd finally journeyed to Ood-sphere. What they found was disturbing; the Ood were all wrong and out of time. They dreams they showed them were terrifying. How could he be back? He and his father burned the body! They sung the death-songs and mourned him! So _how_?

But the how was not important, it was the imminent destruction following in his wake that drew their attention. They fled back to Earth desperately, it was their home and their sanctuary. The only place they had left.

They didn't know their part in the greater scheme of things. John could never have imagined they were all just puppets taking their positions on a stage. Time was coming to an end and the last of the actors had arrive, Time Lords Doctor and John Smith alongside the Time Lady Jenny.

Wilfred had been their sole source of information, of course. His dad refused to let him or Jenny help in the pursuit of the Master. He said it was too dangerous, that they were too young. They refused to listen, mind. John couldn't just let him go out there alone into the wasteland. He couldn't let his father fight alone again.

They met the Master then. It was a strange moment. They'd always associated Time Lords with valour, honour, courage, intellect...like their father. They'd assumed he was cut from the same cloth. Especially since Time Lords shared a mind of sorts, they thought and dreamed together. They hadn't realised that one Time Lord could be radically different to another. They'd almost been eager to meet one outside of their own family.

Then that met the Master. He was completely mad, violently mad. There was something there though. Beneath all that ego, all that anger and hatred. There was someone their father had known, someone he had loved as his own.

The Master had just stared at them. "Well, what do we have here?" he asked with a sinister grin as he stared at them amidst the scrap heap.

They'd looked at each other soundlessly and blankly. Give nothing away. Nothing.

The madman cocked his head quizzically. His eyes fell on John first as John felt the slightest of mental nudges. He pulled back from it but didn't change his expression. Those ruthless eyes turned to Jenny and she didn't move either. Both of them stood in their father's shadow so he could only partially see them.

"Odd," the Master said after a moment, "that one looks like you." He pointed at John and John did look very similar too their father. Same hair and eyes, they even wore similar clothing. "And she," he continued turning back to John's sister, "also has a hint of you around the eyes. Same build too. I wonder..." he broke off and leaned back. A horrible smile pulled across his face, "you sneaky devil, are they yours?" he asked.

Their father said nothing, he didn't even move. He just stared the Master down with cool and calculating eyes.

"They are!" the Master exclaimed and clapped his hands together. "The girl looks like the eldest," he mused, "so who's their mummy?"

"None of your business," John snapped with a growl, brows furrowing in anger. His fists clenched. He shushed as his father waved a hand at him, motioning him to remain silent.

The Master was shaking his head, "well what was _that_?" he asked John with a smile when he looked up.

"What was what?" the Doctor replied shortly.

"That," the Master retorted with an exasperated wave of his hand, "when your kid spoke something prodded my brain just a little bit."

They looked at each other, the Master was sharp they'd grant him that. "John exhibits natural empathy," the Doctor told him, revealing everything and yet giving nothing away.

"Ah," the Master murmured, rolling his eyes. "And the girl?"

Again their father said nothing. The two just glared at each other. Then John heard his father say something he thought he'd never hear: "I need your help," the proud Time Lord muttered darkly.

"Excuse me?" the Master asked incredulously.

The Doctor sighed angrily and ran a hand through his hair, "there's more at work tonight than just us," he barked. "We were told a prophecy, 'something is coming'-"

"And here I am," the Master interrupted cheerily.

"Don't you ever listen?" he rolled his eyes. "'Something' is not 'someone', not just _us_!"

"It's stronger now," the Master said suddenly, head jerking around to look at them, eyes wild.

The Doctor crouched down, a look of concern on his face. The Master lunged like a cobra and seized his head in his hands. John and Jenny moved forward at once but could only lay a hand each on their father before the Master said with great urgency "you need to listen!"

They all froze. There it was. Tap-tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap-tap. An endlessly repeating rhythm of four beats going round and round in the Master's head. They could feel their father's disbelief. What on earth was going on?

The sound of helicopter blades ripped their air and everything descended into chaos. Armed men with guns appeared and suddenly the world went very, very dark.

-----

The chaos was still there when John awoke. The Master had transplanted himself into everyone and, worse yet, they were all in his captivity. The Master had their father fully restrained, strapped to chair and gagged. It was rather comical really and John had to smother a smile. The madman was, however, content to just leave John and Jenny in tied bundles on the floor. All wrapped up for him to question at his leisure. The very thought gave John the shivers.

The hardest part was when John came to a realisation as the Vinvocci were untying their father and Wilfred. There just wasn't enough time to untie him let alone them. They'd have to be left behind. Abandoned. He swallowed deeply. He didn't like this one bit. "There's no time!" the taller Vinvocci exclaimed positively trembling with panic.

"Just leave us," John told them firmly.

His father's eyes swivelled to them in fear, "no!" he shouted.

The smaller Vinvocci nodded, "wheel him," she commanded the other.

"No!" the Doctor repeated, straining to get to him.

John smiled bravely, "Don't sweat it," he said with a smile for his father. "He won't hurt us, we're the first to be born in centuries right? He'll keep us alive for his curiosity if anything else."

The Doctor was clearly not convinced. But they'd begun to wheel him away and they could only watch as the escape team vanished.

"That was a lie," Jenny said after a moment of silence.

"Yes," John replied simply without looking at her.

She nodded and they said nothing more about it. In fact they didn't speak and were silent as the Master came to once more.

It was odd being alone and gave John the first time in his life to think what it was like without their father. It was cold without his presence, without his grin and guiding hand. The world suddenly seemed darker, colder. He was scared, terrified of the loneliness. He felt his sister's hand on his and looked into her deep brown eyes. She was scared too. Two lost children alone in the night huh? Well wasn't it grand?

Was this what it would be like when their father died?

He might as well consider it, it was the rational thing. Everyone was saying it was going to happen. His father wasn't exactly young anymore, middle aged maybe. He should be prepared, right?

He didn't want his dad to go....

Movement caught his attention and he glanced back to their captor, he stood over them with a look of glee on his face. "I've lost the idiot but at least I still have you two," he chirped happily.

That grin unnerved both of them, "I suppose," Jenny answered defiantly, looking him straight in the eye. He could say many things about his sister but she was, undoubtedly, the bravest person (aside from their father) that he'd ever met.

"So," the madman exclaim, clapping his hands together, "what do I call you, hmm? You must have names." He looked at them expectantly.

John glanced at his sister briefly. He turned wary eyes to his father's long-standing enemy, "I'm John and that's Jenny," he told him simply.

The Master nodded, "not true names, I can sense that," he mused. "You must have chosen them, been through initiation?"

John nodded slowly.

"What names did you pick there? You sure as didn't choose the ones you've got," the eyes that gazed down at them were cold and questioning. John shifted uncomfortably.

"None of your business," Jenny replied tersely.

"Oh I rather think it is," the Master commented, kneeling down so he was on their eye level. "I can make things very unpleasant for your two if you do not cooperate," he beamed. That was unnerving.

John cocked his head and did the only thing he could think to do to regain control of the conversation: change the subject of it all together. "I was there at your funeral," he told the Master suddenly.

This caused the madman to pause to consider him thoughtfully before a derisive sneer crossed his face, "oh? Kick it in a ditch did you?" he snorted angrily.

"No," John said sharply, disgust in his own tone. "We had a true Mourning. You were cleansed, wrapped and burned outside. We sung your ode as far as the Medusa Cascade, you can still hear it if you really try." He shook his head and looked away.

"You may be a bad guy but you're one of us," Jenny put in, "Time Lords take care of their own."

The Master looked at them for a long moment, "a Mourning huh?"

"Yeah," John's voice was quiet, "we were sad because another one of us was gone and, if you hadn't noticed, there aren't many of us left now."

There was silence for awhile. An uncomfortably long time passed. Then the Master's head snapped up to gaze at the ceiling as if he were trying to stare through it. Then he turned back to them and smiled, "It's time to go looking for the signal," he told them cheerily and literally skipped from the room.

John breathed a deep sigh of relief, seems that they would remain alive for a little longer.

Jenny blew a strand of hair away from her face, "Dad was right about him," he said, nudging John with her elbow to get his attention, "brilliant mind but completely bonkers."

John laughed.

-----

The day had hit a high point when the Doctor fell through the sky light. He's managed to look up to see the faces of his children; still beautiful and alive. He couldn't allow himself relief, not when he was in so much pain he could barely move. He raised his gun but almost collapsed. Why was everything going so wrong?

He could feel their shock at his use of a weapon, his children were used to his unending pacifism and not his war-born-self. It was time to throw it all away again, to hurl their world back into the darkness before it ended everything and everyone. He couldn't let their madness flow any further.

"Children, Doctor?" Rassilon asked with a raised eyebrow. "You would deny them their heritage?"

The Doctor glared at the haughty man, "they've survived without it this long," he replied firmly, gun never wavering.

Rassilon snorted in disgust, "you would have them continue their ignorance!"

The Doctor shook his head sadly, "no," he told the mightiest of all Time Lords. "I would have them continue their innocence."

The unsaid battle raged on. The most terrible choice came.

Why were things no longer simple?

He was going to break and lose everything. He didn't want to die and leave his children behind, all alone in the world. He had so much left to teach them! They were only kids, not even thirty yet...

A gentle touch on his mind drew his attention and his gazed flicked to the woman standing behind Rassilon – a very familiar face indeed. He felt her inquire and take pleasure in the knowledge of his offspring; Time Lord John Smith and Time Lady Jenny. The line continued and the universe would forever be safe.

She made him realise; it was time to let go. To let go of the pain and the rage. To let go of the war and the agony that came in its wake. She smiled tiredly at him.

They all fell into the whiteness, even the Master – his best friend that had done him one last favour. He had saved their lives at the cost of his own. He hoped he was at peace now, he'd suffered far too long in the wretched universe they grew up in.

But time wasn't finished with him yet. Maybe this was his punishment for trespassing the boundaries that had been so clearly defined his entire life? For doing the opposite of what he preached? Did it matter now? He squared he shoulders and marvelled at the unfairness of it all. He could have been so much more...

His children begged him not to do it, their touches comfort on his worn soul. He could vaguely hear Jenny crying and John shouting at him to stop. His son wanted to take his place but he could never allow that. He'd lived a good life, a long one. He now offered his son that same chance.

He shrugged them away and approached the dangerous glass door. He closed his eyes and emotions assaulted him; pain, fear, anger, regret...

He opened his eyes and smiled to the one man who'd made saving the universe possible. "Wilfred, it's my honour," he said as he stepped inside the chamber.

-----

So what did you think? I was going for the emotional angle but I don't know if it worked out....

Please review and tell me!

Love ya!

- D


	3. Part III

Well here's the final chapter! I guess in the way it's the end of an era....bye David Tennant, you were my doctor.

Anywho! Onwards! Hope you like it!

Allons-y!

------

**Part III**

Wilfred saluted, tears in his eyes as one of the most brilliant men he'd ever met strolled away from him. The man who'd been his granddaughter's best friend who came to her wedding even though she would never remember him. He still came. As the tall stranger wandered away his coat flapped in the wind and his shoulders hunched as though bearing a terrible burden. He walked like a broken man now. He was a man resigned to death.

A pale hand took hold of the brass handle of the TARDIS door and softly pushed it open. Even the lights of TARDIS seemed dimmer as they spilled from within, they seemed sadder. He slid silently inside, never looking back.

Wilfred couldn't believe that such a man, such a force of nature was to be snuffed out alone and in silence. He deserved better. Then he saw them.

There standing to the side as the Doctor swept inside were two figures, one of which he hadn't seen since he was six years old. The boy was nearly a man now, how time had changed him. He painted a sombre figure waiting to greet the Doctor as he walked inside. The boy wore a trim dark blue suit and red tie, not unlike the Wilfred had seen the Doctor wear upon occasion, and had the messiest brown hair Wilfred had ever witnessed. In an instant Wilfred recognised him as the Doctor's son, looking so like his father as the years had gone by. A boy of barely fifteen.

The Doctor paused before him and the boy soundlessly opened his arms to embrace him. He pulled his father close and tight. Wilfred then realised how tall John had grown, the little boy that used to do experiments in his bathtub wasn't so little any more. John's dark eyes were shut as his father hugged him back, head on his father's shoulder.

To the left of them a woman Wilfred had never seen placed a tender hand on the Doctor's back, tears in her eyes. She was beautiful, Wilfred noted. Tall and slender with wheat-blonde hair that seemed to glimmer in the TARDIS-glow. Her head bowed slightly as the Doctor's hand reached and gripped hers tightly.

There was a long moment before the Doctor stood away and began to move once more. He staggered deeper into the TARDIS and vanished. In that moment two sets of eyes flew to meet Wilfred's, both a deep and sober brown with untold depths of emotion. He knew then that he was looking into the eyes of the Doctor's children, the last children of Gallifrey. He was glad that the Doctor would not go through this alone.

The girl turned and disappeared with a confident stride he'd definitely seen before. But John stayed and they stared at each other for a very long moment. Then a smile pulled itself onto that pale skin and crinkled that freckled nose ever so slightly. He raised his hand in a wave.

'Thank you' he mouthed to them in silence as he swung the door shut.

And Wilfred cried.

----

John didn't like it. Their dad was so quiet, so unnaturally quiet. It wasn't right. For as long as he could remember his dad had always had a gob that would never stop. _Ever._ It was a trait that he'd inherited, that he'd been proud to inherit! No subject was out of bounds, from teapots to Albatrassian Upside-down Physics Engines. So for him to be silent unnerved John. He shared a glance with Jenny who also had yet to say a word.

He flinched as his dad suddenly hunched, grunting harshly in pain, as he reached for a throttle leaver. His fingers twitched as he strained to reach it in his agony.

John immediately stepped up to the TARDIS console and yanked it down. His father's eyes wordlessly met his. John smiled wryly, "So, where to?" he asked, repeating a question he'd heard since he was but a babe.

The Doctor managed a smile back. "Earth, new year," he told him, straightening and also reaching for switches on the console. He looked to Jenny who'd also stepped up, "Year 2005, or just turned. Powell estate," he finished.

John and Jenny both stared at him, they knew what that meant. John breathed in deeply, "you got it, skipper," he replied, a reference to a very old joke.

With relative ease they guided the TARDIS in, steering with the experience born of a well-oiled team. As before the TARDIS door was pulled open, cold air rushed in and their father strode out into the night.

They had no choice but to wait. It was the worst waiting they'd ever done, there was nothing that could compare. They just waited there in the silence until the night was ripped apart by the almighty should of a telepathic voice singing a song older than any they'd ever heard. It was like the whole universe was singing.

The universe was singing their dad to his sleep. Unconsciously they joined the song.

When the Doctor managed to get back into the TARDIS he looked even worse than before. His face was going pale and he could barely stand. Jenny was at once at his side, supporting him and helping him to the TARDIS. "Put us into orbit," he muttered and John immediately flew to the console, twisting the right knobs and pulling the right levers.

Where had the invincible man gone? Where was his dad, the harlequin? Where was that familiar grin and jumping stride? Where were the years of laughter and all their adventures? Where were their friends, those he'd bit farewell to? Was this what it meant to regenerate?

His father pushed away from Jenny and stood gazing into the Time Rotor. Wordlessly he held out a hand and John went to him. His dad pulled him close and John felt a kiss to his hair. "You know," he heard his father say, "I remember when you were only forty six centimetres long and only weighed six pounds six ounces."

His father pulled away and looked deep into his eyes, mirrors of his own. He smiled a tearful grin. "I remember your weight in my arms as I lifted you out of your cot for the first time, as you held my hand when we ran across the universe and when you leapt into my arms with joy."

John smiled even as he felt his insides break.

The Doctor turned to Jenny and his smile widened. "And you," he remarked, "my adventurous daughter. I remember when you threw down your gun and refused to shoot Cobb on Messaline, barely an hour old. I loved you then. You made me so proud. Both of you did."

He held them close for a long moment. "I've lived too long, I don't want to go," he laughed, as he pulled away. "I guess this will be your first time seeing a regeneration," he chocked slightly on a tear that escaped down his face. He pushed them away gently, urging them to stay back. "Keep watching, this should be spectacular!"

Then just like that he exploded into golden light that shattered the heart of the TARDIS. His father regenerated, the TARDIS burned and John cried.

The Doctor screamed as his skin set afire, hair changing and face melding. His scrunched his eyes, loosing sight of his children. The children that he'd lived for these last years. He felt the anger born of war vanishing, the deep connection he'd formed to Rose and Sarah Jane and Donna and Martha and Jack, even Mickey, fading into the darkness. He was losing himself. But even in the darkness his children shone like the brightest suns, guiding him home.

John blinked and a new man stood before them. He was a little less thin than he had been, his hair was longer but less wild. He seemed almost confused. The man took inventory of his limbs and hair and everything while John and Jenny watched. Speechless amidst the carnage. John realised that he no longer looked like his father, a near twin to him, his father looked like someone else.

"I'm crashing!" the stranger suddenly yelled, voice squeaking. Something they'd all failed to notice despite the burning circuitry around them.

Then John saw it, this man was his father. He could see it in the way that his father looked at them, the eyes were different but the emotion was the same. He was different but still there, like a memory. They would travel on, that's what Time Lords do, and burn through time.

A smile spread across his face.

His dad always said that time was made of precious moments, moments that would forever stand. This change was one of those moments.

As the TARDIS hurtled to earth, coral collapsing around them, he heard his dad shout, "Geronimo!" with what can only be described as wild excitement.

He laughed and gave a wry smile. "Allons-y," he replied softly in agreement as they plummeted into the future.

----

So what did you think of it? Hope you liked it! Look out for another part of the Unexpected Series on the way called 'The Most Important Woman in the Universe'!

Please review and feed the poor ego!

Love ya!

- D


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